Why a prohibition against back-in parking?

The in basket: Ray Smith says, “Recently I saw a sign at an Olympic College parking lot that said ‘No back in or pull through parking.’ I have seen similar signs at other parking lots in the past. There must be a good reason for this but I have no idea of what it may be.

“Does it have to do with safety or the efficiency of moving cars into and out of the lot?”

The out basket: Shawn Devine, OC’s director of communications, replies, “I heard back from our Emergency Management Director. His understanding is that this rule is in place because student parking permits are placed in the rear-passenger side of the vehicle, making it difficult for campus safety staff to identify valid parking permits on cars that have backed into a parking space.